5 Rule Changes to Consider for Your Fantasy Basketball League

Whether you’re a beginner or a weathered veteran of fantasy basketball – everyone needs an occasional shake-up of the leagues. Below are listed five rules to consider for your leagues. These thoughts come with the best intentions from decades of fantasy sports experience. Feel free to use them, discard them, or modify them to your liking.

The Rules to Consider

1. If you’re not already doing it, you should consider switching to an auction draft. It really is the bee’s knees – I’ve yet to meet anyone who didn’t prefer an auction to a standard draft after doing the switch. In fact, most people consider it the highlight of the fantasy season. An auction draft is incredibly fun and engaging and opens up a world of possibilities in team construction that just aren’t possible in a standard snake draft. The most common argument against auction drafts I meet is that the people who don’t prepare thoroughly will be left behind, which simply isn’t true in practice. Because each team can give their input on each pick, it’s hard to completely fall out of line. Think of it as the invisible hand of the free market guiding you. Just don’t get involved in crazy bidding wars and you’ll be fine.
2. However many weeks your regular season lasts and whatever your playoff setup is – aim to skip the last couple of weeks of the NBA schedule. With the way tanking and shutting stars down works in the modern NBA, it would be a shame to decide your fantasy basketball season on the garbage part of the season. The rule of thumb is that April basketball is no good for fantasy.
3. Don’t have playoffs. This may be outrageous but you don’t have to have playoffs in fantasy basketball. Some might say it is a little unfair to decide the winner on a couple of weeks of basketball after 20 weeks of the regular season. Instead, everyone could play everyone else twice and that’s that. This is how most real-life soccer leagues operate. Just be sure to have an appropriate trade deadline as well as honorable league-mates who won’t skip town once they’re out of contention. A softer way of doing this would be to split the league in half after a certain amount of weeks. For example, in an 8-team league, after 14 weeks the top four will play each other twice more as will the bottom four. Feel free to be as creative as possible. Fantrax is very customizable.
4. Have anything but a free-for-all system for free agent claims. A free-for-all (also known as first come first serve) is a totally inane way of doing things that rewards quick fingers rather than strategy. A fairer way would be to have a system where everyone will have the time to get a look at the possible pickups and make their decisions. Once or twice a week free agent auction (FAAB) is a good starting point but Fantrax is very customizable so each league can find its perfect ruleset.
5. You don’t have to play for money. It’s true. You don’t have to play for money. Money can turn things nasty whether you’re playing with friends or strangers. Just think of all the activities you do with your pals and how many of them are wagered on. Not many, I bet. Pickup basketball isn’t played for money usually. Neither are Monopoly or the cool indie board games you play. If you think you need money to be involved to be engaged: a) you may have a gambling problem but b) consider how many hours are spent per season on fantasy basketball and whether the league winnings are a good return on investment. Probably not. Focus on the fun of fantasy basketball, not the earning potential.

What’s your take on these rule changes for fantasy basketball leagues? Let’s hear about it in the comments below! In the meantime check out all the great analysis in our 2023 Fantasy Basketball Draft Kit!